Epithelioid sarcoma with muscle metastasis detected by positron emission tomography

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Epithelioid sarcoma is an uncommon high-grade sarcoma, mostly involving the extremities.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 33-year-old man was referred to our institute with a diagnosis of Volkmann's contracture with the symptom of flexion contracture of the fingers associated with swelling in his left forearm. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed abnormal signal intensity, comprising iso-signal intensity on T1- and high-signal intensity on T2-weighted images surrounding the flexor tendons in the forearm. Diagnosis of epithelioid sarcoma was made by open biopsy, and amputation at the upper arm was then undertaken. [¹⁸F]-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) detected multiple lesions with an increased uptake in the right neck, the bilateral upper arms and the right thigh, as well as in the left axillary lymph nodes, with maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) ranging from 2.0 to 5.5 g/ml. Magnetic resonance imaging confirmed that there was a lesion within the right thigh muscle which was suggestive of metastasis, even though the lesion was occult clinically.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Increased uptake on FDG-PET might be representative of epithelioid sarcoma, and for this reason FDG-PET may be useful for detecting metastasis. Muscle metastasis is not well documented in epithelioid sarcoma. Accordingly, the frequency of muscle metastasis, including occult metastasis, needs to be further analyzed.</p

Stripes, Pseudogaps, and Van Hove Nesting in the Three-band tJ Model

Slave boson calculations have been carried out in the three-band tJ model for the high-T_c cuprates, with the inclusion of coupling to oxygen breathing mode phonons. Phonon-induced Van Hove nesting leads to a phase separation between a hole-doped domain and a (magnetic) domain near half filling, with long-range Coulomb forces limiting the separation to a nanoscopic scale. Strong correlation effects pin the Fermi level close to, but not precisely at the Van Hove singularity (VHS), which can enhance the tendency to phase separation. The resulting dispersions have been calculated, both in the uniform phases and in the phase separated regime. In the latter case, distinctly different dispersions are found for large, random domains and for regular (static) striped arrays, and a hypothetical form is presented for dynamic striped arrays. The doping dependence of the latter is found to provide an excellent description of photoemission and thermodynamic experiments on pseudogap formation in underdoped cuprates. In particular, the multiplicity of observed gaps is explained as a combination of flux phase plus charge density wave (CDW) gaps along with a superconducting gap. The largest gap is associated with VHS nesting. The apparent smooth evolution of this gap with doping masks a crossover from CDW-like effects near optimal doping to magnetic effects (flux phase) near half filling. A crossover from large Fermi surface to hole pockets with increased underdoping is found. In the weakly overdoped regime, the CDW undergoes a quantum phase transition ($T_{CDW}\to 0$), which could be obscured by phase separation.Comment: 15 pages, Latex, 18 PS figures Corrects a sign error: major changes, esp. in Sect. 3, Figs 1-4,6 replace

Murine 3T3-L1 Adipocyte Cell Differentiation Model: Validated Reference Genes for qPCR Gene Expression Analysis

BACKGROUND: Analysis of gene expression at the mRNA level, using real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), mandatorily requires reference genes (RGs) as internal controls. However, increasing evidences have shown that RG expression may vary considerably under experimental conditions. We sought for an appropriate panel of RGs to be used in the 3T3-L1 cell line model during their terminal differentiation into adipocytes. To this end, the expression levels of a panel of seven widely used RG mRNAs were measured by qRT-PCR. The 7 RGs evaluated were ß-actin (ACTB), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), hypoxanthine phosphoribosyl-transferase I (HPRT), ATP synthase H+ transporting mitochondrial F1 complex beta subunit (ATP-5b), tyrosine 3-monooxygenase/tryptophan 5- monooxygenase activation protein, zeta polypeptide (Ywhaz), Non-POU-domain containing octamer binding protein (NoNo), and large ribosomal protein L13a (RPL). METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using three Excel applications, GeNorm, NormFinder and BestKeeper, we observed that the number and the stability of potential RGs vary significantly during differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells into adipocytes. mRNA expression analyses using qRT-PCR revealed that during the entire differentiation program, only NoNo expression is relatively stable. Moreover, the RG sets that were acceptably stable were different depending on the phase of the overall differentiation process (i.e. mitotic clonal expansion versus the terminal differentiation phase). RPL, ACTB, and Ywhaz, are suitable for terminal differentiation, whereas ATP-5b and HPRT, are suitable during mitotic clonal expansion. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate that special attention must be given to the choice of suitable RGs during the various well defined phases of adipogenesis to ensure accurate data analysis and that the use of several RGs is absolutely required. Consequently, our data show for the first time, that during mitotic clonal expansion, the most suitable RGs are ATP-5b, NoNo and HPRT, while during terminal differentiation the most suitable RGs are, NoNo, RPL, ACTB and Ywhaz

Pitfalls of predicting complex traits from SNPs

The success of genome-wide association studies (GWASs) has led to increasing interest in making predictions of complex trait phenotypes, including disease, from genotype data. Rigorous assessment of the value of predictors is crucial before implementation. Here we discuss some of the limitations and pitfalls of prediction analysis and show how naive implementations can lead to severe bias and misinterpretation of results

Fuzzy obesity index (MAFOI) for obesity evaluation and bariatric surgery indication

Background: the Miyahira-Araujo Fuzzy Obesity Index (MAFOI) for being used as an alternative in bariatric surgery indication (BSI) is validated in this paper. the search for a more accurate method to evaluate obesity and to indicate a better treatment is important in the world health context. Body mass index (BMI) is considered the main criteria for obesity treatment and BSI. Nevertheless, the fat excess related to the percentage of Body Fat (%BF) is actually the principal harmful factor in obesity disease that is usually neglected. the aim of this research is to validate a previous fuzzy mechanism by associating BMI with %BF that yields the Miyahira-Araujo Fuzzy Obesity Index (MAFOI) for obesity evaluation, classification, analysis, treatment, as well for better indication of surgical treatment.Methods: Seventy-two patients were evaluated for both BMI and %BF. the BMI and %BF classes are aggregated yielding a new index (MAFOI). the input linguistic variables are the BMI and %BF, and the output linguistic variable is employed an obesity classification with entirely new types of obesity in the fuzzy context, being used for BSI, as well.Results: There is gradual and smooth obesity classification and BSI criteria when using the Miyahira-Araujo Fuzzy Obesity Index (MAFOI), mainly if compared to BMI or %BF alone for dealing with obesity assessment, analysis, and treatment.Conclusion: the resulting fuzzy decision support system (MAFOI) becomes a feasible alternative for obesity classification and bariatric surgery indication

Postpartum behaviour as predictor of weight change from before pregnancy to one year postpartum

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Postpartum weight retention affects many women and increases the risk of becoming overweight. The research objective was to study modifiable factors contributing to weight change at one year postpartum.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this prospective cohort, postpartum behavior, such as physical activity, sedentary behavior, sleep, and intake of total energy, total fat and saturated fatty acids of 118 Dutch women were assessed in 2003/2004 by self-report at 6 weeks, 6 and 12 months postpartum. Mean postpartum scores were computed for the behavioral measures. In linear regression models it was determined which factors were associated with average weight change from before pregnancy to one year postpartum. Furthermore, factors associated with substantial postpartum weight retention (≥ 5 kg) were also studied in logistic regression models.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>At one year postpartum, the average weight of participants had increased by 0.9 kg (SD 4.4). Moreover, 20% of the women retained ≥ 5 kg. Women who perceived themselves more physically active than others were almost ten times less likely to retain ≥ 5 kg than women who perceived themselves equally active (OR = 0.11, 95%CI: 0.02 - 0.66). Exceeding the guideline for saturated fatty acid intake (OR = 3.40, 95%CI: 1.04 - 11.11), total gestational weight gain (OR = 1.14/kg, 95%CI: 1.01 - 1.27), and not having completed post high school education (OR = 5.13, 95%CI: 1.66 - 15.90) increased the odds of retaining ≥ 5 kg.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Since one in five women had substantial weight retention postpartum, effective interventions for the prevention of weight retention are much needed. Future studies should evaluate whether interventions focusing on the identified modifiable postpartum factors are successful in reducing weight retention after childbirth.</p

Genome-Wide Association Studies of the PR Interval in African Americans

The PR interval on the electrocardiogram reflects atrial and atrioventricular nodal conduction time. The PR interval is heritable, provides important information about arrhythmia risk, and has been suggested to differ among human races. Genome-wide association (GWA) studies have identified common genetic determinants of the PR interval in individuals of European and Asian ancestry, but there is a general paucity of GWA studies in individuals of African ancestry. We performed GWA studies in African American individuals from four cohorts (n = 6,247) to identify genetic variants associated with PR interval duration. Genotyping was performed using the Affymetrix 6.0 microarray. Imputation was performed for 2.8 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) using combined YRI and CEU HapMap phase II panels. We observed a strong signal (rs3922844) within the gene encoding the cardiac sodium channel (SCN5A) with genome-wide significant association (p<2.5×10−8) in two of the four cohorts and in the meta-analysis. The signal explained 2% of PR interval variability in African Americans (beta  = 5.1 msec per minor allele, 95% CI  = 4.1–6.1, p = 3×10−23). This SNP was also associated with PR interval (beta = 2.4 msec per minor allele, 95% CI = 1.8–3.0, p = 3×10−16) in individuals of European ancestry (n = 14,042), but with a smaller effect size (p for heterogeneity <0.001) and variability explained (0.5%). Further meta-analysis of the four cohorts identified genome-wide significant associations with SNPs in SCN10A (rs6798015), MEIS1 (rs10865355), and TBX5 (rs7312625) that were highly correlated with SNPs identified in European and Asian GWA studies. African ancestry was associated with increased PR duration (13.3 msec, p = 0.009) in one but not the other three cohorts. Our findings demonstrate the relevance of common variants to African Americans at four loci previously associated with PR interval in European and Asian samples and identify an association signal at one of these loci that is more strongly associated with PR interval in African Americans than in Europeans